Page 171 of Controlled Burn
But he didn't. Not yet.
Instead, he whispered to the dark:
"Then burn it all down. I'll be waiting."
McKenna
The station was too quiet—ominous, electric.
McKenna stood on the second-floor balcony, chipped mug warm in her palm, watching the bay below, every shadow stretched thin and sharp.
She'd seen men like Brooks. Like Jake.
Small men with cameras and grudges.
But she'd never seen a woman like Talia.
Hardened in chaos. Sharpened by shame. Unyielding.
She made a note—shift apparatus assignment. Keep Brooks isolated. Keep Kennedy close.
The next call would change everything. She could feel it—static in the air, pressure before the flash.
This fire wasn't out. Not even close.
And when it blew?
It wouldn’t just cleanse—it would consume.
She tipped back the last of her coffee. Tossed the cup in the trash.
Time to prepare.
The firestorm was coming.
And this time?
It was lit from the inside.
They weren’t just going to fight the fire.
They were going to let it burn.
Chapter 58
The Trap
The night before, Talia couldn’t sleep.
She lay in her bunk staring at the ceiling, the weight of everything pressing down—Kennedy’s whispered confession, Jake’s meltdown in the bay, Brooks’s eyes watching her in silence like a predator waiting for its moment. Even after HR escorted Hastings out, she’d felt it. The unfinished threat humming in the walls.
She almost texted Dean again. Her thumb hovered over his name until exhaustion finally dragged her under.
That was when the sirens hit.
Three tones in rapid succession. Every station in the city lit up. Radios blared, boots slammed floors, and trucks rolled out.
Talia bolted upright, heart already pounding. She was still buttoning her shirt when McKenna’s voice barked from the hallway:
